Chapter 105
Im Hee-yeon was really dead.
She must have gotten a concussion from hitting her head on the floor while being punched by Yang Juhee.
Gong Ye-rin, who was hit on the head with a bat by Yoo Dahee, was still alive. Seeing her breathing, she seemed to be unconscious.
Jung-seok, who had been down throughout the fight, got up with a nosebleed from both nostrils.
Looking at the dead Im Hee-yeon, he said with a slightly trembling voice.
"We killed someone."
He was right. We had just committed murder.
Yang Juhee said.
"They were trying to kill us too. If we hadn't killed them, we'd be dead."
"That's true. Maybe it's because this place is fundamentally a dream. Even though we killed someone, strangely, I don't feel much guilt. Ugh."
Jung-seok, who was speaking well, suddenly showed signs of nausea. He might have some brain issue from being hit hard in the face with a bat.
Actually, I wasn't in a position to worry about others.
"Knife...!"
I had been stabbed. The box cutter was still menacingly stuck in the upper left side of my chest.
It hurt so much, tears were welling up, and I felt like my blood was boiling and then turning cold.
"I've been stabbed! Aagh!"
"Young-won, are you okay?"
Yoo Dahee, who had dropped the bat, approached me. She seemed to be examining my wound, and then suddenly pulled out the box cutter.
"Ouch!"
It hurt so much. Yang Juhee frowned at me.
"Hey, don't make such a fuss since you're not dying. You think it's easy to pierce someone's ribs and stab their heart with a box cutter? You've just got a muscle injury. You won't die from this much."
Yang Juhee was right. It could be considered just a surface scratch, not affecting any organs.
But it was my first time ever being stabbed, and I was just too sad and flustered.
Rustle, rustle.
Yang Juhee rummaged through Gong Ye-rin and Im Hee-yeon's pockets and bags.
A lighter, bandages, a compass, and a water bottle came out of the girls' pockets and bags.
"Oh, nice loot."
Yang Juhee seemed pleased with acquiring a lot of items. She brought over the rolled-up bandages and held them out to me.
"Hey, wrap yourself with this. Take off your shirt."
I tried to take off my school uniform shirt, but I kept flinching because of the pain from the wound.
Then Kwon Sua, who had been cowering, spoke up as if gathering courage.
"...I'll help you!"
Swish-
With Kwon Sua's help, I was able to take off my clothes. My upper body was soaked with blood from the wound, and it was a terrifying sight.
"Ugh, I can't look."
"Geez, what a crybaby."
Yang Juhee started efficiently wrapping the bandage around my body.
I was surprised at how smoothly she did it. She's used to bandaging. She might have a lot of experience treating minor injuries from fighting a lot.
But when she finished wrapping the bandage, something strange happened.
Ssss-
The wound on my chest felt very itchy, and then it healed completely in an instant.
Do wounds recover this quickly?
"Wow, it seems these weren't ordinary bandages."
I was amazed at the wound that had healed cleanly, leaving only about a 1cm scar. The bandages, having served their purpose, turned to powder and disappeared with a sss- sound.
So many amazing things happen in this nightmare corridor.
Anyway.
With the wound healed, my mind cleared up too. I looked at Gong Ye-rin and Im Hee-yeon again.
Im Hee-yeon was dead. They attacked us first, so this was unavoidable.
They were murderers to begin with.
According to Kwon Sua, they were psychopathic high school girls who had killed two people just today.
I had even been directly stabbed. In other words, they deserved to die.
"It's good that Gong Ye-rin is still alive though. We can ask her various things. How about we tie her hands or feet first? She might cause trouble when she wakes up."
I thought it would be good to restrain Gong Ye-rin, who was knocked out by Yoo Dahee's bat.
Soon, Jung-seok pointed at Im Hee-yeon.
"Then how about we strip Im Hee-yeon and use her clothes to tie her hands and feet?"
It was a good idea.
While Yang Juhee, Yoo Dahee, and Kwon Sua were stripping Im Hee-yeon, Jung-seok and I turned our eyes away from the naked high school girl and looked at the wall.
We had a brief conversation during that time.
"What the hell is going on? I got stabbed."
"I got hit on the head with a bat too. I didn't expect them to attack suddenly. They suddenly changed their attitude after looking at that compass. And they seemed a bit familiar with this corridor."
Despite being hit on the head, Jung-seok's analysis was still working well.
"It's heavier than I thought. A human body. Hey, you guys can turn around now."
The stripping of Im Hee-yeon and hiding her body was done well. They said they put Im Hee-yeon's body in a nearby locker.
They also tightly bound Gong Ye-rin's hands and feet using Im Hee-yeon's school uniform shirt and skirt.
What would happen from now on?
***
"Hey, wake up."
Slap slap-
As Yang Juhee slapped her cheeks, Gong Ye-rin frowned.
"Uuugh-"
Gong Ye-rin came to her senses. She was greatly flustered when she saw us.
"You... what are you doing! What have you done to me! Let me go! Untie this, ugh!"
"Be quiet. We'll be asking the questions."
Jung-seok held a lit lighter close to Gong Ye-rin's face.
Whether she was afraid of the blinding light or scared of getting burned, Gong Ye-rin pulled her head back.
We decided Jung-seok would handle the interrogation.
However, I felt the current situation was somehow surreal and it also felt like we were doing something bad.
Tying up and pressuring a girl our age. If this were reality, it wouldn't be strange to see it on the 9 o'clock news.
"You and Im Hee-yeon. What's going on? How did you get into this old school building? If you don't speak honestly... you might end up like Im Hee-yeon."
Jung-seok spoke coldly. Jung-seok was cold.
Of course, having shared many emotions with him, I could tell his voice was trembling.
After all, a first-year high school boy wouldn't be used to threatening and interrogating a girl his age. This situation must be unfamiliar and nerve-wracking for Jung-seok too.
Soon, Gong Ye-rin started thrashing about as if having a fit.
"Hee-yeon! Hee-yeon! You killed Hee-yeon! You murderers! You criminals! You murderous bastards! Bring Hee-yeon back! Hee-yeon!"
Thrash thrash thrash-
Gong Ye-rin was almost half-crazed.
However, Kwon Sua, who had been mostly terrified since entering the corridor, somehow found the courage to deliver a sharp retort.
"I... I saw it! These people killing someone! They said they'd let them out, told them to stay still, then approached and beat them to death with a bat! We could have died too if we weren't careful! These people are the murderers! We were just defending ourselves!"
With Kwon Sua's detailed explanation, Gong Ye-rin's thrashing gradually quieted down.
Gong Ye-rin's eyes, which had been pretending to be a victim and feigning ignorance in panic until just now, turned cold, and the corners of her mouth twisted cynically.
"Fine, I killed them. So what?"
A chill ran down my spine.
Is this really the behavior of a high school girl I've been in the same classroom with for a semester?
In some ways, Gong Ye-rin was more chilling than the ghosts we'd seen in the old school building.
"I didn't lie? I let you out of here. I don't know if you know, but this is a place you can only leave by dying. I was just helping poor people get out of here, okay?"
"Wow, this bitch is shamelessly lying. Wow, it's creepy. Are you really a psychopath?"
Yang Juhee clicked her tongue.
Even to taekwondo girl Yang Juhee, Gong Ye-rin's current attitude seemed somewhat shocking.
We all lost our words for a moment, and only Jung-seok gathered his wits first and asked Gong Ye-rin.
"That's not what I asked. Tell us how you got in here. And explain everything you know about this place."
"Fuck off. If you untie me first, I'll tell you everything. Aren't you ashamed as a man to tie up a woman? You're looking at my chest right now! You pervert! Aaagh!"
"Ugh..."
The cold and ruthless Jung-seok stepped back as if disgusted by Gong Ye-rin's fierce attitude.
Jung-seok had always spoken like a cold boy, but seeing the 'real thing' seemed to make him shrink in many ways. That's when Yoo Dahee, holding the bat, hit Gong Ye-rin's head again.
"...Shut up!"
Thwack-!
"Agh!"
Gong Ye-rin, fallen to the floor, glared and shouted.
"It hurts! What are you doing, you crazy bitch! You fucking bitch!"
"You haven't done anything good either. Why did you go around killing people? Letting them out was just an excuse, there was another reason, right? I'll hit you again if you don't talk."
Squeeze-
Yoo Dahee gripped the bat tighter.
"I can do worse than hitting. You have no idea what people can do to survive. I don't give second warnings."
Unlike her usually cheerful attitude, Yoo Dahee's behavior was almost unfamiliar.
I thought this corridor was driving people mad. This dark and damp place is making everyone weird.
"Guys, wait a moment. Let me try."
I thought I should calm down the unpredictable atmosphere for now.
So I took the bat from Yoo Dahee's hand and made Jung-seok, who was holding the lighter, step back.
"Ye-rin, I get that you have quite a personality. Then can you just tell me one thing truthfully? Is Wang Ja-hyun involved in this by any chance?"
"...No, I don't know what you're talking about?"
Gong Ye-rin's pupils shook greatly.
No matter how fatal and cunning Gong Ye-rin tried to act, she was just a high school girl after all. Seeing her reaction, her face was changing like someone caught completely off guard.
"So there is some connection with that Wang Ja-hyun. Then I guess we don't need to ask you anything, we can just ask Wang Ja-hyun directly. Let's see what happens in reality then. You'll forget everything anyway."
Swish-
I stood up and casually said to Yang Juhee.
"Then Juhee, let's send her out too."
"Should we? Actually, I've been thinking I wanted to beat up Gong Ye-rin lately because she's been too cocky. Come here."
Yang Juhee was flexing her fists. Soon, Gong Ye-rin had a fit.
"It has nothing to do with Ja-hyun! I'll really kill you if you do anything to Ja-hyun! What are you guys anyway! What are you trying to do! Suddenly appearing and what!"